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U.S. consumer confidence edged up in December, but overall sentiment remains cautious.
PANews, December 5—According to Jintou, Joanne Hsu, Director of the University of Michigan's Consumer Survey, stated that the preliminary December consumer sentiment index rose by 2.3 points to 53.3, an increase within the margin of error. This month's growth is mainly concentrated among younger consumer groups. Although views on current conditions have changed little, expectations have improved—personal financial expectations rose by 13%, and the trend of improvement is seen across all age, income, education, and political orientation groups. However, the December personal finance expectations index is still nearly 12% lower than at the beginning of the year. Labor market expectations have improved slightly but remain relatively sluggish. Consumers believe some indicators have improved slightly compared to November, but overall sentiment remains generally cautious, with the burden of high prices continuing to be cited as a major ongoing pressure. Looking ahead, one-year inflation expectations fell from 4.5% in November to 4.1% in December, the lowest level since January 2025.
